Alpha and Omega: One of a Kind
by Aroeheart
Summary: After Kate and Humphrey return home, and Garth and Lilly become mates, the Eastern and Western packs unite. The custom of the isolation between lower and higher classes is demolished. But then there comes a new problem. Will they reject it, or accept it?
1. By the Moonlight

**I'm going to stop with the bolded introductions, too. Enjoy the story.**

BY THE MOONLIGHT

In the careening, tranquilizing blue of the sky, a bright white disc hung, a resplendent full moon accompanying the scattered twinkling stars. Downy traces of violet-gray cloud diminshed its smooth surface, nebulous among the illuminations, but still enough to be acknowledged. Beyond the leafy stretch of the trees, wielding spidery branches, a structure of thick silver stone reached up into the everlasting azure, its soft, etched gray deep and solid against the eventide cerulean-the Howling Rock. It was the Moonlight Howl, and both packs-the Eastern and the Western, now united-had gathered, for their monthly pairing of wolves. Delicate song flowed through the air, each one seperate, until they found another-one that matched, heart among heart, howl among howl-so that the two wolves, owning the songs, would finally know. They would just know, in the harmonious melodies, that they had found their match.

A slender auburn figure slipped into the milky bask of the moonlight, her fur radiating in its hoary luminosity. Tucked in cleanly next to her right ear was a broad-petaled oleander blossom, the signature flower she wore to every Moonlight Howl occasion. Behind her, a snow-white wolf with a plumy tail had a violet lily snugly next to her ear, matching her eyes.

Kate turned and smiled at her sister, whose face, once concealed and obscured in a wing of bright fur, was now exposed, her thickly-eyelashed eyes showing.

She eyed the lily and beamed. "Very clever," she said. "Wearing your own name to a Moonlight Howl. Though it does go well with the color of your eyes."

Lilly puffed a stray lock of her bangs and blinked. "I could've worn an iris, or a bluebell. That would make me look less self-centered, if that's what it makes me look like..." 

Kate laughed, shaking her head. "No, it's great, really. You look..." She examined her sister, bang-less, white-furred, blending in with the moonlight. "...Beautiful."

Lilly cocked her head. "D'you really think so? Everybody's always saying how _you_'_re_ so pretty, Kate. I don't know about me. I'm still just an Omega, even if I did unite the packs by being with Garth..."

"Big favor you did me," Kate chortled, butting in. "Not only just falling in love with him. You fixed his howl, too. It used to be pretty pitiful."

Lilly blinked, her face blank, then giggled. "Yeah. I feel sorry for the birds."

Behind them, a voice called out. "Daughters! Kate and Lilly! Come here! Want to wish you good luck!" Their mother Eve, the tufts of fur on her head smoothed back sleekly, beckoned them into the den. "I've got a surprise. I managed to snag some rabbits from the meadow. Wouldn't want your stomach growling the whole time through your big night."

The two sisters, Alpha and Omega, hurried into the den, tails wagging. "Mother...you didn't! Rabbits are hard to catch. Too fast."

Eve nodded pridefully, watching her daughters snap up the meat. "Well, I did it, somehow." Then, her eyes narrowed, and she leaned in closely. "Remember, though, if any of those wolves get scandalous...I'll _rip_ their ears off and _shove_ them down their _throat_ so they can _hear_ _their_ _terrible screams as I tear their bloody carcass_ _apart_!"

"Mom!" Kate said, her voice rising. "You're overreacting. No one would dare mess with this Alpha wolf." She bared her teeth, a growl rumbling low in her throat.

Eve smiled, the hostile grimace on her face now a saccharine smile. "That's my sweetie," she said, and licked them both on the head. "Now...go knock 'em out! And, if any of those male wolves gang up on you, I mean that literally..."

A furry-headed male limped onto the dusty-flat rock, eyes dim. "Eve, let them go. It's a celebration for young wolves. I'm sure they'll protect each other."

Eve turned and nuzzled her mate. "Alright, Winston, I get it. But you can never be too overprotective of your cubs, remember..."

Kate rolled her eyes as she padded away, Lilly trotting eagerly behind. "I hope we get the top platform this time. I've never gotten to howl at the top platform, unless I was alone." The petals of the lily in her fur bobbed gently. "Garth was right. It's much easier to hunt without my fur in my eyes."

Streaks of moonlight bore down on them as they clambered up the hill, stepping across the spongy grass. Winter was just beginning, and crackles of frost glazed the grass, bits of sparkling ice against fronds of curvy green. A single, solitary tree marred the dirt path they walked on, dark and plastered in creviced bark. The leaves were still waxy, despite winter's harsh cold bite on the plants, and they were fragile in the lukewarm breeze.

The two walked with cautious pawsteps, weaving around the studs of gravel buried in the path, approaching the crag that jutted just under the round, full moon. Couples sang sweetly into the air, the song floating tunefully in the wind. But nobody was at the top yet, no fleeting of dancing and howling at the peak. The only vistor was the moon, circular and vivid, spilling sallow exuberance on the stony floor. In the very center, two thick-pelted she-wolves circled slowly around, sporting daisy necklaces, lining five wolves-one small and black-faced, one ribby and long-snouted, one chubby-cheeked and plump, one a chalky ginger with emerald-green eyes, and one thin and proud with a ruffled collar of fur puffing out from his neck.

"Looks like Garth and Humphrey to me," Kate said, flicking her hair back. She glanced at Lilly, who was distracted by the moon's flooding glow, and bolted off. "Last one there gets the bottom platform!"

Lilly snapped back to reality and followed pursuit, frantically trying to keep her lily in place. "Wait, Kate, no fair! I wasn't paying attention!"

Kate chuckled and made a volatile leap onto the boulders, somersaulting gracefully into the air. She landing straight on the middle platform, where Janice and Reba stopped waltzing and gazed at her, their toothy mouths rich with bitterberry.

Humphrey and Garth spotted her and Lilly, who was bounding up the rocks, and slunk away from the pile.

"_Finally_, you two get here," Humphrey said, joining Kate's side. "I've been anxiously waiting. Remember, we have a whole evening dedicated to our song." He began howling, demonstrating.

Kate joined in, forgetting momentarily about the debate for the top platform. Garth touched noses with Lily, affectionately licking her ear, then smoothed her hair farther up her forehead, relocating her lily flower.

"You're meant to wear that," he said, examining its soft, almost powdery petals. "Your name is a flower, after all." He glanced at Humphrey and Kate, who continued in their duet. "You know, guys...that's really good." 

They stopped, beaming at him. Humphrey puffed out his chest proudly, putting his paw on his chest fur. "Thanks, Garth. It'll sound even better catching the air on the top platform."

Lilly blinked, looking hurt. "I thought you said we could have it this time. It's only fair, since you two had it last."

Kate furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, I guess so...but I still want to practice. It sounds good now, but it'll sound better if we do it over and over..."

Lilly grinned. "Our song is so good, it charms bluebirds."

"Uhm, guys?" Humphrey said, staring at the silky moonlight. "I think someone beat us to it."

The three faced the top platform, where a wolf with glossy black fur had stepped up and begun to sing.

Garth squinted. "Who _is_ that? It sure isn't somebody I know."

"I didn't even know we _had_ someone with black fur in our pack," Humphrey said.

Kate's eyes widened. "Wait a second," she said, her voice lowering. "We...we _don_'_t_ have someone with black fur in our pack. That...

That's a _lone wolf_."


	2. A Mysterious Song

**Hey, I'm back. -.- I'm so tired...**

A MYSTERIOUS SONG

Lilly, her back fur spiked in fear, backed away, narrowing her eyes at the dark figure. "What's...what's a lone wolf doing here? This isn't their territory!"

Kate turned to Humphrey, her face urgent. "Come on. Let's go take 'im. We'll teach him a lesson."

Humphrey's face fell, looking panicked. He flattened his ears and hunched his shoulders. "Wha...me? Why me? Why can't we go get Winston or Tony or...someone a little more experienced?"

Kate snorted, puffing air through her nostrils. She cuffed his shoulder with a paw. "Humphrey, seriously! You're Alpha now. You have to start being..." She searched for the right words. "...well, you have to start acting less like an _Omega_. Lose the fun-loving and adopt the fight-loving."

Humphrey stared at the wolf, snout still tilted to the sky, thundering a howl. He winced. Truthfully, fighting wasn't exactly his top priority. He could break things up. Cease a scrabble. But he wasn't very skilled with Alpha stuff. It was easy for Kate...she'd actually been to Alpha school, and knew all the basics. But for Humphrey, skating around on logs all his life? Not so much.

Garth butted him from behind. Of course, he was being his burly self. "Come on, Humphrey! Take it with style. Some scrawny lone wolf is no match for us."

Humphrey sighed reluctantly. "Okay, fine. I just wanted to party. Celebrate! This is one night in our lives and we can't waste it trying to convince some random loner to get off our land."

Lilly adjusted the flower, its stem slipping from her fur's grip. "Well...okay, I guess. Maybe...maybe he'll just leave if we tell him too. Maybe he's nice. Maybe we're just being judgemental. Maybe..."

"Okay, Lilly, enough!" Kate said, flicking her sister in the muzzle with her tail irritably. "The bottom line is, we've got a wolf howling here that doesn't belong in the packs. And that's a problem."

Kate silenced and leapt nimbly onto the pearly-surfaced rocks, Garth and Humphrey tagging along with her. Lilly followed them tentatively. She didn't like fighting. Even arguments made her shiver. She wished everything could be peaceful, and all conflicts could just settle. At least for one day. She just wanted one day of freedom and pristine tranquility. Nothing at all to bother her, no battles, a day full of turtle impressions and Humphrey and Kate and Garth...just one day. Just one.

The foursome cleaved through the couples, who hadn't noticed the intruder. (In fact, they were howling along nonchalantly to his song.) Lilly's ears perked as they edged closer. If you listened closely, you could hear calm tweets flowing with the mystery wolf's music, as if even the birds were singing along to the sound. It was quite beautiful, actually. The voice was heavy and strong, but also very syrupy and high. It almost sounded like it belonged to a...

"A girl!" Humphrey hissed, observing the wolf. "That's no 'him' we have here...that's a girl!"

"That's because she's got her fur all over her eyes," Garth said, his voice disapproving. You couldn't tell. And it sounded kind of deep at first, so I guess we just assumed..."

Kate flattened herself closer to the rock, hiding herself. She slipped furtively onto the platform, paws emitting no sound.

"Hey," she barked firmly, and the wolf turned around. In full view, her hair trailed halfway down her neck, choppy, jutting out in all directions. She was very lanky and thin, with long legs and a white-splashed chest. Her ears sagged, poking out from her head fur, and shaded white spots over pale blue eyes. Tresses of hair blocked one eye, even worse than Lilly had it previously, and her tail was curvy.

She didn't seem fazed by the fact that she'd been caught. She smiled at them. "Hello," she said warmly. "Come to howl along?" Her voice possessed slight sarcasm. It was almost a boastful tone, but not quite.

Humphrey cocked his head, looking nervously to the side. "Well...not exactly. Truth is, uh, this isn't really..."

The mystery wolf stared at him, perplexed. "...really...?"

Kate interrupted, stepping boldly in front of the mystery wolf. "This isn't your territory. You're not supposed to be here."

The mystery wolf looked even more puzzled than before. "Territory?" She looked around, glancing at the wolves, howling their harmonies. "Is this...is this a territory?"

"Don't play dumb, _loner_," Garth snarled. "Why're you here? This land belongs to the Eastern-Western Pack!" He brought his paw down, scattering pebbles. 

The mystery wolf raised her eyebrows. "Uhh...well, I don't have any idea where I am. I just saw everybody howling here, and it looked like fun, so I..." She shrugged, sealing her sentence. She went over to the edge, tapping a pebble off the side with her tail. "Don't any of you like fun?"

Humphrey raised his paw. "I like fun!" he piped, his tail wagging.

"Humphrey!" Kate said, shooting him a glare.

"Sorry," he said, grinning apologetically.

Kate huffed in annoyance and turned her attention back to the mystery wolf. "Look-you're not allowed to be here. You have to howl somewhere else."

Lilly felt a tingle shock her spine, and she bounded up to the mystery wolf, changing the subject hastily. "What's your name?"

The mystery wolf looked obliged, beaming at Lilly. "I'm Serena," she said, her tail waving in consent. "What's yours?"

Before Kate could protest, Lilly placed her paw on her chest. "I'm Lilly." She brushed Kate's paws with her tail. "That's my sister, Kate. Over there, in the silver, that's Humphrey, Kate's mate...and in the brown, that's my mate, Garth." She switched her eyes, locking them with Serena's. "It's very nice to meet you." 

Serena flashed another smile, her insicors gleaming. "Well, it's been great talking to you all, but really, I've got to get back to my song..." She rotated back to the moon, took a deep breath, and let go a high note. "_Ooooaaaahhh_..."

"Wait...!" Kate started, but Humphrey placed a paw on hers reassuringly. "Wait, Kate, hold on a sec," he said, watching Serena sing. "Don't stop her. Just listen for a moment."

Kate, despite her worries, cupped her ears to Serena. The song was like a lullaby. Something about it made the moon shine brighter, made the stars twinkle with more strength. Something about her voice was indescribable, like it was some sort of magical sound.

In the background, she could hear a thin, tinkling sound. She turned around, and Lilly's eyes were shut tight, her mouth shrunk into a pocket, letting her vocal chords roll. In a moment, Humphrey joined in, then Garth. With four harmonies, it was mystical, magnificent. Kate looked down at the ground. It made all her concerns fall away, catch on the breeze like a loose feather. And, before she knew it, she was howling, too.

As all the other wolves on the rock sang, it was unbelievable. Kate had never felt so calm, so wonderful, so...so _serene_. Serena had lived up to her name. Like spirits had named her, located the gift in her heart, and entitled her with something that described her perfectly. She was mysterious, strange. Kate felt like she was floating, and she never wanted the night to end, Humphrey's fur pressing against hers, howling at the moon with the wolf she loved most. Nothing to worry about. It was like everything, absolutely everything, had been purified by the sound of blended voices.

Kate didn't know how long it lasted. In the midst of it, she felt a twinge, as if something had been taken away. She ignored it, and sang her duet with Humphrey, howling swirling all around her. She had felt nothing but the cool wind in her coat, so when Humphrey's cold, wet nose met hers, it startled her, as if she had been tugged back into reality. It was enough to make her open her eyes, and when she did, Serena's dark figure had vanished.

Humphrey had opened his eyes too, and looked confused. "She's gone," he said.

Garth growled angrily. "That sneak! She slipped away when we were distracted."

Humphrey shrugged. "Ahh, it's one less thing we have to worry about. Come on, everybody! Howl some more!" He continued his song.

Kate was embarassed that she had let an intruder get away, but hearing Humphrey's voice calmed her. She sang the duet until her throat was sore, until she was unable to howl any longer. At long last, when the wolves began to file down the hill, she left, her heart still beating swiftly.

Lilly yawned, the petals on her lily slightly drooping. "That was one of the best Moonlight Howls I've ever done," she said sleepily, her eyes lethargic.

Kate, as she withdrew from the Howling Rock, felt composure drain back into her. The dreamy feelings from before were whisked away. "We still need to tell Dad about Serena," she said. She pronounced "Serena" bitterly, shooting Lilly a petulant look, as if blaming her for knowing the loner's name.

Lilly shrank back from Kate's sharp glower, her thick fringe of eyelashes flashing as she blinked. "You're pretty sour tonight, Kate," she said, taking care not to sound too straightforward. If there was anything she knew, it was that if Kate was in a bad mood, you had to exchange discourse with her carefully. "We can tell Dad about Serena later. What's important now is that we get food into our stomachs. It's been a long night, and I'm sure we're all hungry."

A muffled growl split the air, and Humphrey nodded agreeably. "Yeah, I sure could go for a leg of caribou."

Humphrey remembered, back when he was an Omega, the problems between ranking and food. The alphas always got plenty, of course, since they played an important role in the pack. Betas got enough to sustain themselves, but they almost never went hungry. Subordiantes and pups got their share, too...but in times of crisis or caribou scarceness, the Omegas were expected to fend for themselves. It usually meant nights of gobbling snow and eating bitterberries. He also remembered when he'd tried to salvage some bites from a caribou when the alpha wolves were eating-that'd been a long night of wound-licking. As a result, now, as an Alpha-he was constantly hungry.

Kate removed the flower from her head fur and placed it outside the den entrance. Inside, she could see the shaggy gray fur of her father and Eve, who had sliced meat into portions and were gnawing at some scraps themselves. Eve revolved her ears towards the door, and twisted around, her eyes crinkling merrily at the sight of them all.

"Hello...returned from the party, I see?" She gestured to the platters of meat to her right. "Everybody dig in. I can practically see you all salivating."

The four wolves' faces brightened, and they lunged for the food, gulping ravenously.

Eve chuckled as she watched them eat. "Isn't it delicious? Your father and I went hunting for you when you were away." Eve polished off the last of her share and swiped her tongue around her muzzle. She glanced at Lilly, who was busy chewing on a soft mouthful of meat.

"Now, Lilly, remember to brush out your tail before you go to sleep tonight," she said. "It'll be terribly frizzy in the morning if you don't. You've already destroyed enough bristlecone brushes."

Lilly nodded obediently. "Yes, Mom. I'll remember." She bent down, swallowing down her meal.

There was a brief pause, the only sound for a while the chewing and ripping of robust caribou meat. When they finished, they all compiled the clean white bones in the center of the den, to bury as a snack later or to give to the pups.

Garth, after grooming his paws, stood up and looked at Eve.

He pawed at the ground nervously, his round jungle-green eyes flicking back and forth from Eve's gaze. "Uhm, I was wondering...if I could have your permission to share dens with Lilly tonight?" From the other side of the cave, Lilly's small silvery-white ears perked at this.

A monstrous craze struck Eve's expression, replacing the warm and welcoming one from before. Instantly, without hesitation, she pounced on Garth, knocking the younger wolf to the ground, and began snarling in his face, her paws seizing hold on his throat.

Humphrey sighed. "Here we go..."

Lilly bolted towards them and tried to pry her mother off. "Mom! He...he didn't mean _that_ way...he's just asking for your permission to be in the same den with me when we sleep tonight! Just being responsible, since we're mates now, and you're the mother-in-law..."

Eve sucked up the rage and swept across the den with a flounce. "What a sweet and honest boy!" she chirped. Garth breathed heavily, trying to refill his lungs with air.

As Eve's golden-brown tail disappeared around the corner, Winston eyed Garth and Lilly wearily, chortling. "I apologize for her behavior," he said, shaking the mane of fur around his scruff. "She just loves Kate and Lilly so much, she wouldn't want anything to happen to them..."

Garth spouted a dry laugh. "Yes, ha-ha. Very funny. She almost choked me to death. Maybe humor, but not Funny-Omega humor." He turned to Lilly and licked the side of her snout affectionately, producing a giggle from her.

Kate sighed, watching Garth groom Lilly's well-tapered face. He was obviously in love with her...more than he could ever be in love with Kate, or more than Kate could ever be in love with him. Sure, at first, he'd appeared to be just her type; well-trained, muscular...but show-offy. And way over-confident. In the journey back home she and Humphrey had gone on, it seemed she was more into goofy, bubbly wolves. And no singing voice could top Humphrey's...not even Serena's. Humphrey's was special.

Thinking over this, she recalled the loner who had been singing at the top platform. It stung at her to know that she had howled along, completely careless. She was forgetting her duty as Alpha. Alpha school was supposed to change her. One of the first rules was _Do not howl with an Omega_, but howling with an outsider? Even worse. At least Omegas were in the pack.

Eve rounded the corner, clutching two rabbits in her jaws. "I brought dessert," she said, smiling as widely as she could with a mouth full of rabbit.

"Wait," Kate said firmly. "There's something I have to tell you."

000

"There was a lone wolf on our territory and you didn't tell me?"

Winston's eyes had slanted down angrily, evidently irate. His tail lashed like a snake, writhing from side to side. Though he was a retired Alpha, he still had that vibe, that compact leadership that made you seem the lesser. He was elderly, but still, an orb of strength lie in the pit of his stomach, the guidance of a pack leader still coursing through his veins. When he and Tony had retired, they had made an agreement-Kate and Humphrey would become the Alphas, and Garth and Lilly would be betas, the second-in-commands. Garth hadn't taken the position he was to originally, but Lilly's rank had gone up significantly. Wolves had treated her differently before. She was barely noticed. But now, in everyone's eyes, she was a snow princess-the white wonder.

Kate stood tall, meeting her father's eyes evenly. "I understand my mistake, but...we didn't want to leave the celebration. And her howl, her howl was...mystifying..." She left out the part of the join-along howling. She didn't have to experiment to know what her father would think about that.

Winston groaned, shaking his head. "Kate, Kate, Kate...this isn't about howling. This is about being _Alpha_! You've got to start being more responsible." He scratched a mark in the earth. "And that's our custom...our law. Alphas act like Alphas!"

Kate kept steady, though the guilt swelled up in her chest. She dipped her head respectfully. "I know, Dad. It was my fault for neglecting my duties. I'll be better from now on...I promise."

"Better isn't _good_ enough, Kate," Winston said, his voice strained. "You've got to be the _best_."

The words were like a signal, a cue. Her heart lurched. She knew what her father said was true, but how could she possibly be the best? She had trained. But with everybody having such big expectations for her all the time, with everybody wanting her to strive to do her best-it kind of left an empty, lonely feeling inside her chest, as if there was something missing there.

Eve shot a spiteful glance at Humphrey. "But don't blame it entirely on our _daughter_, Winston, dear," she growled. "Remember, Humphrey's an Alpha, too. He should've convinced her not to let it go. He is her mate, after all."

Winston shifted his tired gaze to Humphrey, who grinned in...rueful defiance, was it? Those blue eyes looked blameless, but he knew he was in trouble.

"Believe me, I know what's expected of wolves. Every wolf, everywhere." Winston waved his tail, lacking energy. "Humphrey is a new Alpha-he doesn't really know better. He's still got his fun spirit telling him what's right and wrong. And that's not always the same as an Alpha's decisions." He swept his paw across the ground again, leaving thick claw marks. "Clumsy and silly. Immature. But you're right in some ways, Eve...Humphrey is an Alpha now, so he should know that his goal now is to try to be more like one."

Humphrey sealed his ears to his head politely, knowing his rank. Winston towered over him, even if he had taken place as Alpha. "I'm sorry, sir...I'll try to be less...uh, less of myself." He tucked his tail between his legs. "And then maybe things will be...more...organized."

Winston nodded in approval. "Good," he said. He swiveled his head to the entrance, where a dusty brown wolf had appeared. Following behind him, a brown wolf with a clay-colored face looked with serious eyes.

Winston padded over and licked Tony's ear in greeting. "Hello, Tony, Duster," he said, his voice a mere whuff.

Tony blinked slowly, his face leisure. "What seems to be the problem, Winston? I heard arguing."

"There's a lone wolf on our territory, and we need to get rid of it." He turned to Kate. "What did this wolf look like, Kate?"

"Female," Kate replied quickly, "Black-furred, with long strands of fur over the left eye. A white chest and eye spots, with blue eyes." She finished off with a flourish, hoping she sounded official enough for her father.

It seemed to pass his likings. Winston focused on Tony once more. "Tony, alert some of the wolves. Tell them to look out for a lone wolf. And if they confront her..." He paused, narrowing his eyes. "...tell them to _attack_."

Tony nodded and retreated, Duster at his heels. "Thank you, Winston."

They had launched a lookout for Serena. They were expecting it to be so, but it would not be the last time they saw the strange wolf.

**Erg. I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. I made a few flaws...**

**1. I kind of made them out of character. Sorry about that. **

**2. I added new characters. (You can look 'em up on my profile, as my Avatar.)**

**3. I put in more wolf-like terms. You know, like the formal greetings and how the Omegas aren't allowed to eat as much...**

**4. I made Humphrey a little less outgoing. (Is it cute how he cowered or not? I don't really know.)**

5. I think I made it rushed. ...Did I? And also, if Serena sounds too "perfect", tell me. 

**That's all. Tip: If you make the characters have the same voices as the movie in your head, it might sound a little better.**

Thanks for reading, if you read it. I hope bolded letters catches people's attention...so, um, read and review. Yeah.


	3. A Song of the Stars

**I'm begging everybody to STOP NAGGING ME ABOUT FLAMING! I flame, mmkay? That doesn't make me a sinner. Haven't you read the Seven Deadly Sins? I'm pretty sure "Internet Flaming" isn't one of them, and that is NOT sarcasm. If you're on Fanfiction, prepare to be flamed! And I am sorry I haven't updated. I've been...busy. With things. **

A SONG OF THE STARS

Serena ducked under the rock jetty, narrowly avoiding a sharp bump to the head. Carved under the platform of stone was a tiny burbling stream, running busily down the crevices and spraying fresh foam onto the rock above, making it slippery. The ridges of the water constantly changed, morphing in silvery drops, a miniature brook pouring down the hill into a pooled delta below. She watched it for a while, feeling calmed by its lulling sound, forgetting momentarily the many thoughts that clouded her mind.

But suddenly, in a snap, they came back to her. The sound of paw pads scraping against stone...unfamiliar. The sound of many wolves, baying thick, viscous tunes to the radiant moon that was the prize of the star-sprinkled sky.

She had never seen so many wolves before, not at once. She had seen packs half that size, their fur colors all mostly blending to match their surroundings. An instinct sort of thing to nature, she thought. A survival tactic that develops over many sky-changings. But never a pack like that, twice the size of normal, two different coat hues, almost as if a twosome of groups had united themselves...

She thought it had been some gathering...like, a place where all wolves could relax. She thought they were all loners. There was no way that any pack could be that large, so she suspected they were a loner cluster.

How wrong she had been. The hostile glares of that pale brown one, with the tufty mane of fur around her scruff-Kate-must've been an alpha. And that goofy gray one next to her, with just as goofy of a name-Humphrey, with the spring blue eyes-he looked Omega-ish to her, with his soft clumsy paws and his tail swinging about under his legs...but what about the silvery white one, with the metallic violet eyes? The one who had introduced all her friends. Lilly. She had seemed meek; friendly...but she was pretty enough to have been born into an Alpha family. It was hard to say what kind of social class she fell into. The one with the chalky red pelt-Garth, was it? Strange name, all right. Too formal to describe someone as muscular and casual as him. He had struggled to ward her off, so maybe had had been recently promoted or demoted or something that might've intermixed two different personality sides of his.

It stirred something in her heart, to see all of them grouped together, a pack. Maybe it was longing. But she had been a loner for as long as she could remember. But what did her remembering matter? She couldn't even remember her parents. Or any sort of family. Brothers and sisters might be nice to have. Cubs. Littermates. But perhaps being a loner had strengthened her somehow, and given her the carefree personality she possessed now.

She hefted herself over the small stream, into the grassy meadow below. It was a blue-skied night with gentle purple clouds drifting sleepily across the horizon, so moisture had soaked the air and speckled the plants with dewdrops. Dappled with orbs, she tasted them, cold on her tongue. Honey. She sniffed further, and there, under a tree, was a fallen beehive, long abandoned. Her heart leapt at this, at such a rare finding-usually she'd have to go through a series of stinging for a delicacy like this. She split open the fuzzy brown covering and found a thick mass of honeycombs inside, shaped in an organized pattern. She stripped them off carefully and mopped the sticky-sweet treasures from each store, licking her lips after each bite.

After the quick snack she went on, trotting merrily home. Or at least it was a temporary home. It was a snug little cave, surrounded by a patch of sunbaked earth and little fronds of grass, sprouting pink flowers with petals so tiny she couldn't distinguish them. She'd decided to stay for a while. Maybe she could return to the moon-bathed rock that those wolves had been howling on. It would be sober without other songs to join in, but at least she would get to sing directly to the stars. That's what it seemed like tonight, standing forward on the rocks, just letting out everything she felt. That was the trick to howling. You just summoned your emotions, let 'em out, and there you go-a howling song.

Serena slipped into the cave, turning around so the tip of her snout was still glowing in the moon's bask, and shut her eyes, starting to think.

_What_ _is_ _my_ _life_ _like_?

Hmm. Where to start? There was so much to say.

Well, first of all, since she was a teeny cub, everyone had mistaken her for a boy. Was it the unkempt fur, or was it the drape of hair that always concealed one eye, or was it the shape of her snout, or just the build of her legs? Sometimes she wished she was male, so wolves didn't constantly pity her. She remembered random adult wolves from random packs saying to her when she had been traveling with _them_...

"Oh, how sad. A poor little cub traveling all by herself." It wasn't as if she couldn't fend for herself. It was very sexist, to scrutinize one for their gender. All of _them_, the ones who weren't female, weren't pitied at all. Why was it that boys always got pitied less? Were expected to be more independent? Why couldn't females be like that?

Secondly, she was troublesome. Jeez. It just always seemed like she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why was it she always had to be howling on marked territory on the day they decide to have a Moonlight Howl? Mischief was bad, but it was extremely fun. Really-what was life without it?

Third of all, her first memory was mud. Yes, mud. Specifically, mud sliding over her belly fur as she smeared slowly down a riverbank, her newborn tail-tip uncurling and being soaked with spray. Had she been left there, purposely, to die? Or had she been placed hastily at the top of the grass while her eyes and ears were still sealed, not intended to fall into the water? She was sure that day, if she hadn't been stuck in a hill of mud gathered at the bottom, she would've been tossed about in the water and had her new, short life taken away from her. She could stand bugs, water, dirt, anything...but not mud. Mud still scared her. And why mud, not water? She wondered still. The only answer she could provide for herself, looking back...was that it seemed like the mud was trying to push her into the water, edging her towards death. Water was part of nature. Mud was created-by dirt and water combined.

Fourth of all, she had only traveled dependently once in her life. With _them_. And they were far away now, and they'd certainly forgotten about her by now.

Fifth of all, she had no parents.

She was sure of it.

She didn't remember suckling at any belly, or tasting any sort of milk. She'd never tried milk. From the day she could see it'd been berry juice, water, and honey for sustenance, and nothing else. Hunting was an instinctual matter-she'd taught herself. She'd never been nurtured. Oh sure, she'd seen those little roly-poly cubs, cuddling closer to their mothers, yipping gleefully. Not so with Serena. She'd only watched. Sometimes she'd feel a pang of desire in her heart, but mostly she'd just smile and laugh when one cub accidentally mistook his mother's tail for a snake, or batted its brother or sister with one plump paw. It warmed her heart, and perhaps looking at the good side of things made her this way. Sulking was low-priority, and she tried to be optimistic. But trouble always found her, maybe because she'd never been disciplined.

But when she howled, all the sadness locked up in her heart spilled out. All her sorrows, her wishes. The song was enclosed with a mysterious tinge, and her sadness was concealed. So as it echoed across terrains, it didn't sound sad at all. The last wolves she'd ever told about this was _them_, and she had no idea where they were.

Nobody, _nobody_ understood her.

**R&R. Who is "them"? It will all be revealed...83...**


	4. Sneaking Out

**I'm back, after a two-month break. It's summer~**

CHAPTER FOUR- Sneaking Out

Lilly woke up. Even in her subconsious state, she could tell something was different. Even this, this tiny difference- had caused her to stir from sleep. And as the brisk of morning air pried her more and more awake, she noticed the difference was actually two differences. The first, more minor one was that the tuft of white fur usually blanketed over her left eye had been tucked neatly back. The cause of this was, she knew, the soft powdery object that was perched next to her ear. She carefully teased the object out with her paw, only to find that it was a sweet-smelling violet blossom, the exact same shade as her eyes. She sniffed it closely, and smelled a familiar, warming scent. Garth. He'd put it in while she was sleeping.

The next disturbance was obvious- a furry body pressing against hers, the top rising and falling evenly. As her mother had "granted" permission, Garth had been allowed to sleep in her den last night. Usually nighttime was a frustrating time for Lilly, as she found it troubling to go to sleep with so much going on in her head. Lilly, being meek, was afraid of just about everything and paranoid in every way. But with Garth's presence, she hadn't found sleeping difficult at all. She'd tumbled into a deep slumber almost immediately. She smiled at the memories of meeting her beloved came back. Garth had been more prideful then, but his confident streak had softened into a protective one, making her love him more than ever.

As soon as Garth felt the movement, his green eyes popped open wide. His eyes clouded from dreams, he blinked a few times and shook his head. Then he looked up at Lilly, who had put the sleek-petaled flower back into place. He flashed her a sparkling smile, his ears revolving forward in glee.

"Have a good night's sleep, Lilly?" he asked, pushing to his paws and stretching. Lilly elicited a small giggle and nodded her head, the flower slumping out of position in the process. Garth nudged it back, giving her a series of good morning licks.

Lilly returned the offer, smoothing the fur on his face where sleep had ruffled it. Lilly couldn't contain her love for this wolf, this wolf she had once been afraid of and too shy to admit her feelings for. And she knew, considering this, that having him as her mate had changed her. No longer was she tentative, too feeble to try out new things and increase her skills. And she knew she had to change more. Garth, though gentle when he was around her, had always been a talker. She knew him enough to say so. Garth wouldn't be able to survive without the general pleasure of daily conversation, and Lilly had to give him that. She would have to pull out of her shell and be more straightforward. If this relationship was to stand, that's what she'd have to do. Lilly planned to be with him her whole life, and she had watched enough couples throughout her life to know how it went. The first few full moons were a session of happiness and utmost love, but it wouldn't always be that way. It would settle into regularity, and chances were Garth would grow tired of Lilly's enclosed personality. Wolves didn't always choose lifelong mates. In fact, it was normal to go through a series of mates. But Lilly had planned to have Garth always by her side. If that were to happen, she'd have to change for him.

000

"Mama, I'm hungry."

Humphrey cringed as he heard the mewling voice of a wolf pup to his left. Naturally, it was an Omega pup, lean-boned and scraggly-furred and obviously starved. This was the fifth time the little cub had repeated the phrase, and each time his mother said in the same tired voice, "When the Alphas are finished with their share."

Humphrey couldn't bear it. He had gone through the exact same thing as a pup. Back in the days when he was still an Omega, he'd have to wait, famished, for the Alphas, the Betas, and the regular wolves to eat before he could. He remembered happily trotting over to the leftover of a caribou after the other ranks had eaten their fill, only to find scraps and gnawed-on bones. Omegas got unfair treatment for no reason- or almost no reason- and the pack treated them differently because they'd fallen into a lower rank. This was only because he'd acted "less dominant" as a pup. Even after being in the wolf pack for that long, he still couldn't understand why that was. Even though he was an Alpha. Being an Alpha had always been his dream, but now, living it? He was still unhappy. Because he knew there were still Omegas out there who needed help. They barely had enough nourishment to keep them alive. And he wouldn't stand for that.

His mate, Kate, was tearing into the shoulder of the caribou they had brought down together. It was delicious, of course, but he felt bad eating so much when those growing cubs and exhausted mothers got bones and scraps. He knew what he had to do. He searched for an excuse to shoo Kate away for a while.

"Kate," he said through a mouthful of meat. "Didn't you promise Lilly you'd go flower-picking with her tonight?" He tried to sound as casual as he could while questioning her, so it wouldn't seem like he was trying to get her to leave.

Kate's amber eyes flashed. "Oh, yeah! She did tell me that." She licked the last few specks from her chops, then blinked at Humphrey. "I guess I can't break a promise with my sister. You want to come?"

Humphrey shook his head roughly, but not too roughly. "It seems more like a sister- bonding time," he chirped. "I shouldn't barge into that."

Kate laughed. That was one thing she loved about him- he always made her laugh. She stood up and fluffed her tail up. "I'll see you after our 'sister- bondng time"," she woofed.

Humphrey wagged his tail lightly in response. He waited until she had bounded up the hill, then turned around to face the mother and her cub, who were waiting about five tail-lengths away.

Humphrey padded over to them. When they saw him, they instantly flattened their ears, tucked their tails between their legs, and crouched low to the ground. Humphrey hated that. They had to do these dramatic gestures in front of him? How was he any higher or mightier than they were?

"Dear Alpha," the mother muttered. The pup squeaked the same, shivering. He was scared. Scared! How could he be scared of a big, clumsy wolf like himself?

Humphrey shook his head. "Stop that!" he growled, sealing his ears against his head, mimicking them. "You shouldn't bow to me! As command of an Alpha, I order you to stop!"

The wolves' ears twitched, but they seemed skeptical about moving. They knew better then to protest, but they did remind him the rules.

"We bow down to Alphas- that's what we do," the mother mumbled. She got up only to lick him on the nose. It was a symbol of respect, but it still bothered him. He knew he wouldn't be able to change their mind with words, but he could do so with objects.

Meat.

He ran back over to the caribou, tore a large fragment of juicy meat from the flank, and tossed it straight under the mother's muzzle. She was shocked, but she didn't dare move or make eye contact with him.

"Eat," Humphrey woofed. "I, an Alpha, am telling you to eat. You can relax- please. I don't want to be bowed down to or anything like that. I used to be an Omega. I know what it's like."

The pup rose and started wagging his tail. "Really?" he piped cheerily. "We can eat this big slab of meat?"

The mother nipped the cub's ear. "Juniper!" she hissed through clenched teeth. "Be respectful!"

"No," Humphrey said, "the cub has the right idea. Tell all the Alphas, as long they're around me and no one else, they can act normal. You can rise, you can eat by my side." He winked at the mother, whose brown eyes were open to the whites. "Just don't tell Winston or Eve, okay?"

The mother nodded, biting timidly into the chunk of meat. "Thank you, Alpha..."

"Humphrey," he corrected her. "Call me Humphrey."

The tiniest smile tugged on the mother wolf's mouth. "Humphrey."

"Now...what's your name?"

The mother wolf gulped. "Rose."

Humphrey woofed softly. "Rose," he said. "I'll remember that one."

He padded away to leave the bewildered Rose with her cub, who was happy now at least. He knew he'd just defied the rules, and with the old alphas angry at him for letting a loner get away already, he couldn't let them find out. And he especially couldn't let Kate find out. What would she think of her mate, sharing with the Omegas? She would think that he was still an Omega, that's what. And that's the last thing he wanted to happen to him.

There was one more thing he wanted to do before he could settle. Serena. That mysterious black wolf with the captivating blue eyes. She had seemed so kind, and yet the wolf packs wanted to drive her away. But as an Alpha, he felt compelled that it was his job to do this. He was going to meet Serena again- and he would get to know her. If she seemed pure enough, he was going to give her a second chance. Find out who this loner really was.

So he snuck out.

**R&R.**


End file.
